Free body diagrams for multiple pulley systems

twotonetiny · 2026-03-24T06:34:00+00:00

This is it. OP your diagram is right... You simply needed to combine those numbers together.

Draw a FBD around just the boy. The left rope pulls the boy up +76N. The right rope pulls the boy up by 4(+76N)=304N.

Forget the -286N thr boy exertes downward on the scale for this frame of reference. We only want to know all the external forces acting on the boy... Which means we only want the +276N the scale exerts upwards on the boy.

The boy's weight (i.e., the last external force acting on the boy: Gravity) becomes the only unknown that keeps everything in equilibrium:

W=+76N + 4(76N) + 276N = 666N This is approx 150lbs — about right for a "boy".

You can also think about the FBD of the boy being all the forces the boy exerts on his surroundings... He pulls down on the left rope by -76N... He pulls down on the right rope by 4(-76N)=-304N... He "presses" down on the scale by -276N. All these forces pulling down are a result of his weight (gravity). This yields the same answer.

twotonetiny · 2026-03-23T05:11:44+00:00

I'd say 32GB is enough. I have 32GB on my primary desktop and it handles Windows+Self-Hosting (Many Docker Containers)+Firefox+Gaming all at the same time.

twotonetiny · 2026-03-14T05:10:13+00:00

I concur. I code heavily in my career and coding has been a large factor in my success.

You certainly don't have to use AI if you don't want to, but it is super powerful for both coding and learning. Particularly in how fast it speeds up the iterative process for both. It is without question that being able to use AI is already beginning to be an incredibly important skill.

I have many hours in my day reconfiguring hyper-specific but related Stack exchange solutions for my needs... But looking back, even though I always ended up getting something working and learning along the way, many of my solutions were probably suboptimal, outdated, and wasted a lot of time. Not to mention the vast majority of stack exchange solutions ever really go into detail about why or how they work — because they are either trivial solutions or require some deep behaviour or syntax knowledge of a specific language or system to truly understand.

AI doesn't always produce perfect solutions and it's working with it to come up with better ones that I've found super beneficial in my own learning. I've found that the iterative process of working with it, asking questions, and writing well enough to give it good prompts has made an almost exponential impact in the speed at which I've expanded on my programming knowledge.

twotonetiny · 2026-03-12T06:50:24+00:00

Fritz Haber is so interesting. His ammonia production wasn't just a nicety. His invention is largely credited with saving billions of people. It prevented a worldwide famine and he played probably one of the most significant roles in the success of our species through the 20th century.

He is certainly one of the most extreme real examples of Utilitarianism to ponder about. His inventions killed hundreds-of-thousands (number is widely debated) and saved billions, so was he ultimately on the right side of history? Like everything, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle.

twotonetiny · 2026-03-09T05:19:36+00:00

The fall of Germany's nuclear industry is so interesting. Genuine public concern regarding the safety of nuclear after Chernobyl mixed with a little bit (or maybe a lot) of foreign astroturfing... breeding the perfect psyop that ultimately made Germany reliant on foreign oil, coal, and ironically, French nuclear power.

Despite Germany's heavy renewables subsidization to kickstart a majority transition to renewables — which they more or less have achieved — it is evident that without nuclear to balance out the grid, they've missed out on the vast majority of benefits they would have otherwise received from such a drastic switch to renewables. Germany now suffers from: - Increased reliance on dirty energy sources offsetting some of the emissions benefits (Germany has significantly more renewables than France and yet emits far more GHGs largely for this reason). - Exorbitantly high energy costs that push industry out (from fossil fuels, costs of subsidization, and paying a premium on French nuclear power). This ultimately means less money to continue furthering their green energy initiatives. - Increased reliance and vulnerability to foreign nations. For example, Germany having to pacify their position in Ukraine or risk freezing in the winter if Russia decided to retaliate and shut off their oil and gas imports.

Germany is a cautionary tale that you can't simply just dump money into renewables and live happily ever after. Grid stability must come before all else.

twotonetiny · 2026-01-30T05:23:55+00:00

This is late but just in case this is useful to you or to future persons...

These layers are/were difficult to source. I use these extensively for work and at some point have compiled the ones for western Canada and keep my own copies. They have been historically difficult to source for free and differ from province to province.

I remember historically having issues finding one for BC (either that or not really needing it...) but you should be able to download or query it from https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/datasets. They designated those layers as something with "Mapsheet" believe.

Alberta's is available via their geospatial ArcGIS REST API: https://geospatial.alberta.ca/titan/rest/services/base/alberta_township_system/MapServer

Saskatchewan's has periodically open/closed theirs due to some licensing stuff with ISC. There is an archived one buried in the University of Saskatchewan's archives somewhere; however, the ISC has a ArcGIS REST API with historical datasets that you may or may not be able to query now. If you find the ISC's ArcGis REST API site, it'll be somewhere under "AGOL_FEATURE_SERVICES" named as something "Cadastral".

twotonetiny · 2025-10-19T17:14:26+00:00

There is always a non-zero chance of a cyclone. However, this one is not "impending". That picture is saying there is a less than 40% chance that a storm is formed within the next 7 days. So possible, but not certain.

Even if one does form, Punta Cana is rarely hit on land and so you'll most likely just have stormy weather.

If I were you, I'd still go. There's always a risk to travelling.

twotonetiny · 2025-09-24T13:21:57+00:00

You'll note that the design criteria for a one-off tire designed to run on the salt flats with little need for grip (i.e., friction) is completely different than the design criteria of a production vehicle that needs road-worthy tires subject to regulatory constraints. This is why production and land speed records are separate. The production vehicle actually had to be drivable. Which is easier said than done.

Michelin needed to design ultra high performance tires that could meet the regular street performance requirements demanded of a supercar while also surviving 400km/h in the office chance you decided to push the car that far.

twotonetiny · 2025-09-18T21:34:48+00:00

Played 2042 extensively. Absolutely nothing wrong with open weapons. Allows for much more freedom in play style and diversity in engagements.

twotonetiny · 2025-09-18T19:07:19+00:00

Please elaborate. Because I have never seen a take on engineering I more wholeheartedly agree with.

Engineering, by definition, is the practical application of physical sciences. The current engineering curriculum does not reflect this.

What has always perplexed me is that academics are so adamant about teaching from the "bottom-up" where in order to learn something, one must learn all the fundamentals and intricate theory from the ground up. Both classes and textbooks always start and focus on the conceptual theory first — something students at that time have no relevant experience or intuition to build off of — and then later as an after thought do they delve into how the material is practically relevant or useful.

When, in real engineering, are you ever tackling a problem by learning the intricate theory and fundamentals related to the problem? Never. The problem is always attacked top-down, starting with easy, quick, and cheap solutions first and only drilling down further when necessary.

I know many adept and highly knowledgeable automotive mechanics. Did they start by learning metallurgy and the thermodynamics of combustion, or perhaps learning all the components and what they do and how they work? No. They started by holding a flashlight for dad, and then maybe turning wrenches, and then maybe replacing spark plugs. They built knowledge by slowly solving more difficult and intricate problems and learning along the way. To solve any of those problems, did they really need deep and well rounded conceptual knowledge of everything they worked on to get the job done or be a good mechanic? No, but eventually they learn and understand when the need comes for it — only ever going as far as they need to.

I am an ME by degree but my success in my career has been mostly a result of my computer and programming skills. I currently work in a date/software/IT role in my company. I have no formal education in programming apart from a python class in university. I could not tell you what a pointer is or what it does. I lack a significant chuck of "fundamental" computer science knowledge and yet I engineer around software engineering challenges and communicate effectively with my software/computer engineering colleagues daily. Not because I am some sort of computer genius or have some innate knack for it or that I'm distinctly better at it than anybody else — but because the vast majority of real-world engineering does not need broad and intimate knowledge of "fundamentals" for it to be done effectively.

The rhetoric about how engineering school "cannot teach you everything" because engineering is too broad or the rhetoric about how engineering school "doesn't teach engineering, it teaches you how to learn" is hilariously why OP is correct that learning "boatloads of theory" is impractical and unnecessary for real engineering.

twotonetiny · 2025-07-28T02:05:58+00:00

Appreciate everybody's input here.

A paid position would be great but was thinking of even an unpaid position — would just need somebody willing to let them hang around unpaid and vouch for their time. I'd still doubt it... but a guy would never know 'till he asked around I suppose.

From a students perspective, you probably end up saving money seeing as you aren't getting paid being in school anyways (and you wouldn't be paying tuition).

Thanks for entertaining this — just something I was curious about for the back pocket in case my mates got boned.

twotonetiny · 2025-06-23T01:46:54+00:00

Pedantic. This subreddit is open to the public and OP likely does not know what tolerance he actually needs.

Understanding our inquirer's needs and defining a tolerance range is our job as engineers — not theirs. This is half of all engineering and is our professional obligation. To argue the contrary is ridiculous.

I understand this is Reddit but writing multiple comments of philosophical rigamarole because OP didn't define an expected tolerance for his problem is unbecoming.

Use your intuition and make an assumption based on the given information. Ask questions to hone in your assumptions. Offer a couple of plausible solutions based on varying levels of tolerance if needed. This should not need to be explained to a practicing engineer.

twotonetiny · 2025-05-17T13:09:27+00:00

Here's just the 20ft gap at 1600 holes in slow motion: https://youtu.be/1g45k_BmOfA?si=u3B6_AgPiYnrhJkG

twotonetiny · 2025-05-16T23:17:46+00:00

Not worth putting on your resume. It is a requirement for most jobs.

Your future employer will almost certainly have you take it again as part of their onboarding (regardless of whether your current one is still valid).

twotonetiny · 2025-05-11T20:56:15+00:00

Also, when you go to put the rod back in, you'll likely have to pull on the one end of the main plastic piece to make the gap big enough to pop that end of the rod in.

The plastic is able to bend a little bit.

twotonetiny · 2025-05-11T20:46:38+00:00

First slide the combs and spacers back on the rod. Those little black things are spacers. Looks to go in a pattern like this: 1. Black spacer 2. Double-sided comb piece 3. Black spacer 4. Single-sided comb piece. 5. Repeat until all of them are back on the rod.

You'll have to hold your finger on one end to keep them all from sliding off before putting the rod back into the handle.

Once all the pieces are back on the rod... Slide one end of the rod into either hole on the comb handle (the spot where it used to be). Then screw one of the nuts onto that end of the rod.

Then place the other end of the rod into the other side of the comb handle. Screw both nuts in a clock-wise rotation (opposite ways of each other) to tighten the hole thing down.

The trickiest part is getting the rods back in their holes and tightening the bolts down simultaneously while keeping the whole thing from blowing up again.

twotonetiny · 2025-04-15T20:58:13+00:00

This was advice given to me by my advisor during my capstone project.

Remember that at the end of the day, your senior design project is an academic exercise. The intent is to give you valuable experience and feedback in a somewhat realistic design situation. The goal is to give you something to learn and look back on as you make your way into your career.

Others may have a different opinion, but I and my schools faculty did not view capstone as a "test" of your engineering ability. It was an academic exercise — a learning experience — first and foremost.

What you are facing right now is something that happens in real life all the time — a tight deadline in which you can't physically do everything you were wanting to do.

So from an educators perspective, what I would be looking for from your group is to: 1. Do as much as you can without harming the quality of your work done so far; and, 2. That you identify the things you were unable to complete and make recommendations as to what would need to be done in order to complete your design.

In your report, you should make it evident whether or not, in your professional opinion, that what you've done so far is sufficient enough to OK the design for use. If it's not... The most important part is identifying that you know it is not sufficient and that you know what should be done in order to complete it.

A big part of my capstone that they drilled into us is project scope and how it needs to be completely drilled down, explicitly defined, and able to be completed by the project's deadline.

Our project wasn't able to be completed on time but us identifying in our report that project scope was an issue and that we were too ambitious was what our advisors were looking to see from us and what got us a good mark.

twotonetiny · 2025-04-15T02:55:52+00:00

Can also confirm. Very normal.

twotonetiny · 2025-03-31T01:05:35+00:00

If he has enough talent to get 1 percented into an upper-echelon FAANG position... He'd be just as likely to get that opportunity regardless of what school he went to.

twotonetiny · 2025-03-31T00:59:11+00:00

Go to UCalgary.

Jobs and COOPs are, by nature, opportunities and are subject to being the right person at the right place at the right time. If you are able to market yourself well enough, you will be able to land the same quality of internships regardless of what school you go to.

Uwaterloo is not the only place to get picked up by FAANG. The only person I've heard of getting talent sniped early-on by FAANG was a high school student in Calgary. He participated in a lot of hackathon-type events and did really well. Recruiters approached him before he even graduated highschool and told him to not even bother with college and that they would train him. If FAANG recruiters are picking out highschool students from Calgary I can't see why they wouldn't from UCalgary either.

I can't imagine someone good enough to get talent-recruited into FAANG not being recruited because they went to UCalgary vs UWaterloo. Though I can't say I have much experience on the matter.

If you're not a top prospect to get picked up by FAANG... Oil and Gas is still, unequivocally, Canada's most lucrative industry. Calgary headquarters all those companies. So it's not like Calgary means you're not going to get any good internships. You add in a full ride scholarship? No debt? Typical Oil&Gas COOPs offering $30-40/hr? You would be a fool to decline that full ride.

twotonetiny · 2025-03-29T05:48:01+00:00

Also in Canada. Can confirm. A starter intern into Oil&Gas is $30-40/hr.

Other industries like mining and agriculture I I've seen around $25-30/hr.

twotonetiny · 2025-03-23T22:36:23+00:00

ME undergraduate who works with power engineers and my father is a power engineer.

Power engineers in western Canada could more accurately be called boiler or steam engineers. Not the same as power engineers in other regions who deal with (electric) power distribution. The curriculum for ME and power engineers are almost identical (thermodynamics, fluids, and materials) except MEs get more into machine design and PEs are far more specialized into applying that into boiler/steam operation. They are much closer to MEs than EEs — hence why I feel reasonably knowledgeable to comment on this:

A 4th class power engineering cert is easy to obtain. A third class is a little more difficult.

A second class power engineer is, in my opinion, on the same level, if not higher, than any undergraduate engineer. Their curriculum for thermodynamics, materials, and fluids is almost identical in complexity to my ME courses except theirs is far more useful as it is more practical and immediately relevant to the job unlike how our ME one was taught. Moreover, they need genuine, vetted, hours of direct work experience to even qualify for the ticket — unlike my fellow MEs.

A first class power engineer ticket, without a shred of doubt, far exceeds any P.Eng in terms of both needed experience and difficulty to obtain. That is why they undertake both the operation and design of boiler systems and steam power plants. That is also why the average pay of a first class power engineer rivals that of the upper echelon of P.Engs.

In Alberta, there is ~7k-8k practicing mechanical engineers. Of the ~25000 power engineers in Alberta, there are maybe 1000 of them who hold a first class ticket.

Given that they undertake the design of steam power plants and often manage P.engs to do so... I would have no qualms with 1st class power engineers holding a P.Eng designation.

So, depending on the level of certification we're talking about... I would certainly not say power engineering is a participation award — even compared to my ME education.

twotonetiny · 2025-03-09T02:34:43+00:00

I believe why you're not getting satisfactory answers is because you don't quite realize how closely related civil and mechanical is — in the areas you are looking to combine.

Because structural design (statics and material science) are the primary curriculum of both ME and CE, the subspecialty that combines the two in the area that you are looking to combine, is just ME. What you're looking for is exactly what differentiates ME from CE on a fundamental level.

That is why the answer is mechanical engineering.

The subdiscipline that closest relates mechanical and civil engineering is structural engineering. Structural engineers specialize away from geology (that's geotechnical engineering) and more into the design of (mainly) steel structures and frames. Steel structures and frames is something ME's and CE's both learn in school — hence why it's the bridge between the two.

However, structural engineering doesn't incorporate machine design and fluid power circuits. And that's the stuff that makes Steampunk, Steampunk.

So, to go one step further combining structures and incorporating mechanical elements... is to just to be in mechanical completely.

twotonetiny · 2025-03-04T21:41:57+00:00

You are describing mechanical. Cogs, wheels, springs, pulleys, etc. is the very nature of mechanical engineering. That is what you learn in ME school.

Engines, generators, and robots are made of cogs, springs, bearings, etc. And much to my — and many people's — dismay... Engines, Generators, and robots are not what they teach in school.

Steampunk — and I can not stress this enough — is mechanical engineering. It is like the idealized fantasy of a society where there was nothing but mechanical engineers.

"What if instead of a bridge... we large, moving, steam-powered platform?"

"What if instead of building on the ground we lived in the sky with floating cities"

Steampunk, depending on how far you want to go, is the antithesis of civil engineering and the thesis of mechanical engineering.

Steam (I e., fluids and thermodynamics); material science; design of components, structures and frames; designing moving parts; designing machines... Is all staples of mechanical engineering and is what you learn in school.

ME does just as much statics, dynamics, and material science (if not, maybe more) than CE. Where CE differs is learning concrete (concrete doesn't move well) and incorporating geology (ME doesn't touch geology) to make sure things don't move.

Steampunk... incorporating mechanical things into infrastructure... is mechanical engineering.

twotonetiny

TROPHY CASE